EAST COAST MARINE SHELLS 



133 



SECTION PERIRHOE Dall 1908 



SUBGENUS HASTULA H. and A.Adams 1853 



TEREBRA CINEREA Born. A comparatively 

 smooth shell, polished, minutely plicated 

 below the suture; pattern of light chest- 

 nut spots in series with a white band often 

 present at the periphery. Length 36-65 mm. 



Large numbers are sometimes seen 

 at Jensen, Florida, upon the sandy beaches 

 at low tide. 



PI. 51, Fig. 2 



Florida to Texas; West Indies 



TEREBRA HASTATA Gmelin. A whitish shell 

 with two to three bands of fawn or orange 

 brown color, sometimes in the form of 

 blotches instead of bands, occasionally un- 

 iform in color; closely plicated, forming 

 crenulations upon the suture. Length 27 mm. 



Fresh beach shells have been taken 

 at Yamato rocks, Florida. 



PI. 51, Fig. 1 



Florida Keys and West Indies 



Family Conidae 



Shell conical, tapering regularly; 

 whorls numerous, spire short; outer lip 

 notched at suture; operculum pointed. 



The Cones inhabit fissures and 

 holes in rocks, also shallow pools of coral 

 reefs from low water to moderate depths. 

 They are all predatory, boring into other 

 mollusks and extracting the juices. Appar- 

 ently dreaded by other shellfish a Pacific 

 Ocean Strombus mimics a Conus in design of 

 the shell and in consequence is free from 

 molestation. Equipped with a poison Conus 

 sometimes bites when handled, the larger 

 species inflicting painful and even danger- 

 ous wounds . 



In Equatorial seas live the largest 

 and handsomest species. There are roughly 

 five hundred known forms, some of them very 

 rare. Only a few penetrate into temperate 

 regions. 



GENUS CONUS Linne 1758 



CONUS FLORIDANUS Gabb. Florida Cone. Spire 

 elevated, last whorl with straight sides, 

 grooved below; yellowish white blotched 

 with brown; indistinct central white band 

 and a narrower one at shoulder; brown spots 

 frequent between bands. Length 1.5-2 inch- 

 es. 



PI. 51, Fig. 4 



North Carolina to Gulf of Mexico 



CONUS MUS Hwass. Mouse Cone. Ash white, 

 streaked and spotted with chestnut brown; 

 white tubercles upon the spire and usually 

 white banded below the periphery; interior 

 chestnut brown with a white center line. 

 Length 1-1.75 inches. 



PI. 51, Fig. 6 



Jupiter Inlet, Florida to West 



Indies 



CONUS PROTEUS Hwass. Variable Cone. Shell 

 white with encircling series of spots and 

 cloud-like marks of brown or yellow with a 

 tendency toward broken bands; base grooved. 

 Length 1.5-2.5 inches. 



PI. 51, Fig. 5 



Both coasts of Florida and West 



Indies 



CONUS PYGMAEUS Reeve. Dwarf Cone. Shell 

 broad shouldered and inflated above, slight- 

 ly pinched and grooved below; almost white 

 with many small brown spots and clouds of 

 violet or brown forming three faint bands; 

 interior white or violet. Length 1-1.25 

 inches . 



PI. 51, Fig. 8 



Florida Keys; Gulf of Mexico; West 



Indies 



CONUS PEALII Green. Peals Cone. Breadth 

 at sharply keeled shoulder less than half 

 the length; smooth behind, grooved on an- 

 terior half; spire slightly excavated or 

 channelled; color livid gray with chestnut 

 blotches and sides with narrow fillets of 

 brown and white, brown spots always the 

 smaller and sometimes lacking, the white 

 sometimes translucent and brightest on the 

 keel; interior of aperture white and dark 

 brown; middle of outer lip arched forward 

 (Dall) . Length 18 mm. 



This shell is often confused with 

 C. florldanus. It is not uncommon on the 

 Florida west coast and the Keys, preferring 

 a grassy bottom in shallow water. 



PI. 51, Fig. 7 



North Carolina to Gulf of Mexico 



and West Indies 



CONUS VERRUCOSUS Hwass. Rough Cone. Shell 

 grooved all over, white and yellow, varie- 

 gated with orange-red; spire short. Length 

 slightly more than 1 inch. 



This species and C. mus are the 



